Brazil's supermarkets pledge to reject Amazon meat

BRASILIA, Brazil—A group representing Brazil's supermarkets says its members are pledging to avoid selling meat from cattle raised in the Amazon rainforest.

The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets signed an agreement Monday with the Federal Public Prosecutor's office to reject meat from areas of the Amazon where illegal activities such as logging or the invasion of public lands take place.

Under the deal, the group will share with its estimated 2,800 members the best practices for avoiding meat raised in the Amazon.

Most of the Amazon region is inside Brazilian territory, and authorities here are fighting to curb deforestation that has turned huge swaths of the forest into pastureland and soy plantations.

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon is down, last year hitting its lowest annual drop in more than two decades.

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